The defeat in London and the sensation in Glasgow: how Argentina won the Finalissima, and Ukraine reached the final of the 2022 World Cup joints

Undeniable advantage 

The first day of summer was marked by two very interesting football matches in Great Britain.

In London, Italy and Argentina met in the Finalissime, and in Glasgow, a semi-final play-off was held for the right to participate in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar between Scotland and Ukraine.

Of particular interest to third-party fans was the first confrontation in which the champion of Europe 2020 and the winner of the America's Cup 2021 met.

Similar meetings were already held more than 30 years ago: in 1985 and 1993, the Artemio Franchi Cup was played.

First, France beat Uruguay - 2:0, and then Argentina in the penalty shootout was stronger than Denmark - 1:1 (5:4).

In 2022, the tournament was revived under a new name, and Albiceleste got the opportunity to defeat the Old World champion for the second time.

At the same time, both teams, despite the end of the club season, were represented by optimal lineups.

Including the most experienced Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, for whom this match was the last at the international level, received a call.

However, there was no good farewell.

In general, there was an impression that the European team was preparing for a vacation and was not fully tuned in to the Finalissima.

The opponent, on the contrary, fought for every ball and was eager to win the trophy.

This was especially true for Lionel Messi.

The captain hasn't been on the field so charged for a long time.

He not only designed the whole game in front, gave two assists and struck almost more shots than the entire Italian team, but also regularly entered into pressure.

I remember the moment when, in the second half, the seven-time winner of the Golden Ball in his half of the field took the ball from Jorginho, went with him to someone else's penalty area and scored another shot, which PSG teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma managed with some difficulty.

It is not surprising that at times Messi had to break the rules.

So, Leonardo Bonucci received a yellow card for hitting him with an elbow in the face.

Before the first goal conceded, the European champions did not look so hopeless.

They tried to respond with attack for attack and forced Emiliano Martinez into the game a couple of times.

But the goal of another Martinez - Lautaro - in the 28th minute became a tub of cold water for Mancini's wards.

In this situation, Messi, bursting into the penalty area, performed a neat assist to a partner.

And in stoppage time, another veteran of the South Americans Angel Di Maria distinguished himself, who went one on one with Donnarumma and skillfully threw him.

During the break, the headquarters of the Italians made a triple substitution and, in particular, removed Chiellini from the field.

The team switched to three central defenders in possession, but this did not help revive the intrigue.

On the contrary, in the second half of the meeting, Emiliano Martinez did not work at all.

The Argentines, on the other hand, easily went from defense to attack and frankly scoffed at their opponents.

If not for Donnarumma, Messi alone could have scored a hat-trick.

However, in the 94th minute, he was unable to do anything with the shot shortly before that, who replaced Paulo Dybala.

He was assisted by the captain of the team.

Thus, Albiceleste became the first winner of the Finalissima, and at the same time extended her unbeaten streak in all tournaments to 32 matches and defeated the Italians for the first time in history.

"Scuadra Azzurra" also suffered the biggest defeat under the leadership of Mancini.

An unexpected victory 

The semifinal play-off match of the 2022 World Cup between Ukraine and Scotland was of no less interest.

It was supposed to take place at the end of March, but UEFA postponed it for two months.

Some offered to give the neighbors a direct ticket to the World Cup.

One of the proposals was voiced by the former captain of the Scottish national team Graeme Souness, who said that he wants the Ukrainians not only to reach the World Cup, but also to win it.

In turn, the head coach of the Ukrainian team, Oleksandr Petrakov, stressed that his wards intend to confirm their right to go to Qatar on the field.

At the same time, it was extremely difficult to count on victory, because Ukrainian football players playing in the national championship have not yet entered the field in official matches this year.

Only legionnaires were in a normal playing and training tone, of which there were ten people at once, including Manchester City midfielder Alexander Zinchenko, Real Madrid goalkeeper Andrey Lunin, Everton defender Vitaly Mikolenko and West Ham striker Andrey Yarmolenko.

To get the others in shape, the coaching staff organized a monthly gathering in Slovenia.

The team also played friendly matches against Borussia Mechengladbach (2:1), Empoli (3:1) and Rijeka (1:1).

But there were no problems with the mood.

For example, Mikolenko promised to fight the Scots until the last minute.

The words did not match the deeds.

Already in the first minutes, Roman Yaremchuk and Ruslan Malinovsky received yellow cards for excessive rudeness in martial arts.

However, it quickly became clear that the Ukrainians were higher than the British in terms of skill, and the forced downtime of individual performers did not affect this.

The guests had more possession of the ball and weaved combinations in the other half, especially in the attack they involved football players who play in the leading championships of the Old World.

The hosts acted ingenuously, relying on Andrew Robertson's passes on the left flank and numerous crosses into the penalty area, which were handled by the defenders and Geogiy Bushchan.

And in the 33rd minute, the main stars of the team demonstrated their class.

Malinovsky performed a great pass behind the back of the defenders, and Yarmolenko beautifully threw Craig Gordon.

Finally, everything became clear when, at the very beginning of the second half, Yaremchuk, after the filing of Alexander Karavaev from the right side, hit the target with his head.

The Scots did not let go of their hands and tried to return to the game.

The pressure on the gates of Bushchan became stronger and stronger.

And 11 minutes before the end of regular time, Callum McGregor unexpectedly took the goalkeeper by surprise with a kick from the penalty line.

After that, the Scots had no choice but to go forward in full force.

The Ukrainians took advantage of this and repeatedly organized dangerous counterattacks.

One of them was completed by Artyom Dovbik with an accurate blow in stoppage time by the referee.

Ukraine made it to the final of the joints.

Now they are one step away from the World Cup in Qatar - a meeting with Wales, which will take place on June 5.